Holy Cross Men's Lacrosse Team Set For 2009 Season

Feb 10, 2009

Feb. 10, 2009

By Jim WrobelSpecial to GoHolyCross.com

Over the last two seasons, the Holy Cross men's lacrosse team
has brought a lot of excitement to the program as last year the
Crusaders defeated a team from the Ivy League for the first time in
school history and two years ago they earned their best overall
record since 1988. The 2009 team, which returns 27 letterwinners,
including eight starters, will seek to continue this upward trend
for the program.

With head coach Adam Pascal entering
his fifth year at Holy Cross all of the players on the roster have
now been recruited by him and the 39 players on the team are the
most since he has been at the school. "The roster is up to 39
players which I am excited about," said Pascal. "It gives us a lot
more depth and it forces the kids to have to compete in practice
and work hard every day because there is someone behind them that
is working just as hard or harder to get their spot. Most
importantly it allows us to play full field in practice and to
simulate the game more. The players are working hard and we are
excited."

Pascal sees team unity as a major strength for his squad. "The
fact that the kids like each other and are a team is a huge
positive for us," said Pascal. "Also the fact that I recruited
everyone on this team and they all know what to expect is also very
positive. We expect the players to push each other in practice. We
don't expect individuals to win games, but we expect the team to
win games."

Holy Cross had a successful fall season that was meant to
prepare everyone on the team for the tough spring season. "This
fall we made a point of playing everyone in our scrimmages," said
Pascal. "We played Bryant, Brown and UMass as we played all 39
players on the team. We wanted to see where the team was by playing
everyone. A lot of the freshmen are going to see playing time this
season and help us win so we wanted to get them ready."

The group of nine seniors was Pascal's first recruiting class as
they have been major factors in the progress of the program. "These
were the first players to really buy into what we do here and
really help establish a type of program that we want to run here,"
said Pascal "They have all paid their dues and I will always
appreciate what they brought to this program. Their freshman year
we went 0-14 and because of their determination and hard work we
have gotten better every year. They always want to improve and they
want to leave the program in a better standing then when they
arrived here."

With nine seniors and nine juniors this year's team is very
experienced as they have played in a lot of big games which will
bring a different element to the program. "With all of our
experience we now have an expectation of what needs to be done to
get better," said Pascal. "We lost every game in 2006 and then we
won six in 2007 and five in 2008. By defeating Yale last year we
were the first Holy Cross men's lacrosse team to defeat an Ivy
League team. So the juniors and seniors have improved over their
time here." For that win over Yale, Pascal was named the US
Lacrosse Coach of the Week.

Jimmy
Harrison

Seniors Jimmy Harrison and
Luke
Marchand will serve as this season's co-captains. "Jimmy and
Luke have contributed since they got here," said Pascal. "They are
very good at what they do and their junior years were their best
year yet. They were voted by their teammates as captains so their
teammates respect them." Pascal sees both of his junior and
sophomore classes as well as his seniors as good role models for
the freshmen. "The juniors have played a lot since they have gotten
here," said Pascal. "They were my second recruiting class. They are
hard working kids. The sophomore class is a good hard working class
that is looking to make its mark and earn playing time."

Pascal is very excited to welcome 12 freshmen to the program.
"We brought in a lot of athletic kids with seven players in the
midfield," said Pascal. "I expect some of the kids to contribute
right away. We are looking to get a lot of offense from this
freshman class."

Offensively the Crusaders return four of their top five point
producers and eight of their top 10 from a year ago, while
defensively they are extremely experienced and have a lot of depth.
"This year we are really looking for the offense to be strong as we
return most of our offense from last season," said Pascal. "We have
a lot of depth defensively. The biggest difference is that we have
a lot of kids who can earn playing time so there will be a lot of
competition which is good for the team. Over the last couple of
years we have had good individual defensive performances but this
year we want to have better team defense."

This season is very promising for the Crusaders, but Pascal
knows that success will be determined by the effort of the team in
not just the games but even more importantly in practice. "If a
player deserves to play because of his effort in practice and is
determined to help the team on the field, then he will see playing
time," said Pascal.

Holy Cross continues once again to run the program under the
philosophy of playing tough quality opponents will only help you
get better. "We always play a lot of Ivy League schools which is
always challenging," said Pascal. "Duke is a national power. Last
year I asked the team if they wanted to drop some of these tough
teams from our schedule and they all said no. As a program we want
to play great teams. We get much better playing these teams and we
get better prepared for the tough Patriot League competition."

That tough Patriot League competition will include Navy,
Colgate, Bucknell and Army which are ranked in one or more national
preseason polls. "The Patriot League is once again going to be very
tough," said Pascal. "Every year there are six really good teams on
our schedule because of being in this league which is great."

Edison
Parzanese

Attack

The Crusaders return their top two point producers from a year
ago in juniors Edison Parzanese
and Chris
Smirti. Parzanese led the team in assists with 21 and points
with 33 as he also scored 12 goals. His 1.50 assists per game
ranked third in the Patriot League and his 2.36 points per game
were ranked seventh. In two seasons, Parzanese already has 31 goals
and 50 assists for 81 points. Smirti is coming off a season in
which he led the team in goals with a career-best 18 and was second
in points with a career-best 23. He also tied the school records
for most points with 10 and most goals with eight in a single-game
when he had eight goals and two assists at Dartmouth on March 25,
2008. Both of these players will be major factors in the team
reaching one of Pascal's goals of the team scoring more goals this
year.

Sophomore Colin Flood had a
solid freshman season and will look to continue to provide an
offensive spark. Last year he ranked fifth on the team in goals
with 10 and points with 14. Sophomore Matt Moran, who missed
the majority of last season due to an injury, had a tremendous
start to his career as he had four goals and four assists for eight
points in only four games. He was named the Patriot League Rookie
of the Week for scoring three goals including the game-winner
against Yale.

Sophomore Justin Rowley and
freshman Colin
McGeehin will bring competition to the attack position and are
expected to earn time on the field as they are both extremely
talented. Another talented freshman Ricky DeCicco, was
injured in the fall but when ready will also be a solid
contributor.

Midfield

In the offensive midfield, Luke Marchand
returns from having a career-year of 16 goals and five assists for
21 points. He was second on the team in goals, tied for third
assists and was fourth in points. Junior Kenny Minor will also
be a major factor as he had four goals and four assists for eight
points a year ago.

Sophomores Conor McKenna and
Matt Petri are
expected to have successful seasons. "From day one as a freshman,
Conor was on the field the entire season for us as he played in all
14 games," said Pascal. "He played man-down for us and at the end
of the year was playing with our top midfielders. Matt is so
athletic. He will probably play both offensive and defensive
midfield. He works hard and he really wants to be successful and
wants to be a leader. He is one of those guys you cheer for."

Seniors Brian
Becker and John Marino along
with junior Mike
Nagle are expected to contribute as Becker is coming back from
an injury, and Marino and Nagle have received great experience by
playing on the extra-man in previous seasons.

Freshmen Matt
Boylan, Brent Ferraro, Andrew Morici,
Nick
Rabiecki and Tom Hines are expected
to bolster the midfield. "These are kids who we expect to be in the
mix," said Pascal. "These are big athletic kids who come from
successful programs." In the defensive midfield, Minor, Marchand
and Petri will also play here as they are solid two-way players.
"We like to play our offensive midfielders on the defensive end as
well," said Pascal. "We just want our most hard working and skilled
players on the field."

Paddy
Dowling

Seniors Paddy Dowling, Rich Durand and
Sean Daly are
expected to bring key senior leadership to the defensive midfield.
Dowling and Durand will also be major contributors at taking
face-offs.

Sophomore Eamon
Troy, and freshmen Rob Finnegan and A.J. Guarente
have all worked hard and will contribute in the defensive midfield.
Guarente and Troy will also see some time on face-offs.

Defense

The Crusaders are very experienced on defense as it should be a
major strength for the team. Juniors Tim Barrar, Brendan Candon and
John Rapport
along with sophomore Douglas
Broussard all bring big game experience to the position. "These
are four players that have started since they have arrived here,"
said Pascal. "We really lean on these players because of their
experience and their skill. These kids want to compete and they
want to win."

Tyson
Colaianni

Senior Tyson Colaianni,
who is coming off of an injury as he only played two games last
year, is a key player on defense. "He is really important because
he has a great attitude," said Pascal. Before being injured
Colaianni had played in 29 games with 24 starts.

Sophomore Anthony Quinn, who
the team voted as the most improved player last year, has the
ability to play in the midfield and play on defense.

Entering his third year as a starter, two-time team Defensive
Player of the Year Jimmy Harrison is
expected to continue to be one of the top goalies in the Patriot
League. In the win over Yale last year, he made 22 saves and
allowed only six goals for a .786 save percentage which was the
fourth best single-game save percentage in school history. Harrison
earned New England Player of the Week and Patriot League Goalie of
the Week accolades for his performance. His .585 save percentage
last year is ranked fourth all-time in the program's history.
"Jimmy is a great stopper," said Pascal. "He is very good in the
cage and is getting better out of the cage."

Junior Connor Sweeney
played in six contests last year including his first collegiate
start. "Connor is also a great stopper and a great team kid," said
Pascal. Sophomore Brandon DeLisio,
who played in two games as a freshman, is a hard worker who is
expected to contribute.

Specialists

Dowling, Durand, Guarente and Troy will all see time taking
face-offs, while Candon, Quinn, Barrar and Henry will all see time
at the long stick midfield position.

Schedule

Holy Cross is scheduled to play 15 regular season games,
including eight at home. The Crusaders will play three teams that
qualified for the 2008 NCAA Tournament (Duke, Navy and Colgate).

Holy Cross will start the season on Feb. 14, when it hosts St.
John's, while the Crusaders will then play Yale in Worcester on
Feb. 21.

Holy Cross will play its first road game when it meets 2008 NCAA
Semifinalist Duke (March 3), while the Crusaders will play their
first Patriot League game at 2008 NCAA Tournament Qualifier Colgate
(March 7). Holy Cross will then host four straight contests as it
will meet 2008 NCAA Quarterfinalist Navy (March 14), Hartford
(March 17), Army (March 21) and Dartmouth (March 24). The Crusaders
will wrap up the month with a game at Bucknell (March 28).

After playing road contests with Lafayette (April 4) and Vermont
(April 7), Holy Cross will play home games against Marist (April
11) and Lehigh (April 14). The Crusaders will then wrap up the
regular season as they travel to Harvard (April 18) and Bryant
(April 22).

The Patriot League Tournament will take place on April 24-26, on
the campus of the regular season champion. The top four teams in
the final regular season standings will qualify for the tournament.

College of the Holy CrossDepartment of Athletics 1 College Street Worcester, MA 01610